Fast Facts

Debuted on Broadway as a Munchkin in the original 1975 production of The Wiz; remained a cast member for three years.

Released the album Josephine Superstar in 1978, a disco-themed telling of the life of black actress and performer Josephine Baker.

First TV role came in 1983 when she joined the cast of the ABC soap One Life to Live.

Married her third husband, sports commentator Ahmad Rashad, in 1985, after he memorably proposed to her on national TV during coverage of a Thanksgiving Day football game. O.J. Simpson served as best man.

Was the first black woman to win a Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (the 2004 revival of A Raisin in the Sun).